The problem with offering app reviews is that the publishers might later pull the plug on the app.
Such was the case with a great app called Cardmunch. Back in 2012, when I would still occasionally attend networking functions, I would use this app to scan all the business cards I collected. What made it so cool was that it did not depend on OCR. Live human beings (or perhaps very well-trained dolphins) would look at the scan and input the information.
But now that I am a demigod among attorneys (or at the very least, a legend in my own mind), I don’t really do the networking thing anymore. I belong to a cigar smokers’ business networking group, but I just go there to hang out with fellow aficionados of the leaf. Hence, only an occasional need for a business card scanning app.
It was for this reason that I failed to notice that my beloved Cardmunch app had ceased to be, until I came across my review and checked to see if it was still working. I’m leaving the review below in case you are interested, and because dammit I took the time to write it.
If you have a need for a business card scanner, I now recommend CamCard. CamCard is free for your first 500 business cards. That’s a lot of business cards. If you need to go past that number, and/or want to unlock some additional features, then you’ll have to pay about $4 per month, if you pay for a year.
Here is a link to a great article from a site called iMore on the best business card scanning apps. This is what the author had to say about CamCard:
With CamCard, users are able to scan in business cards either one-at-a-time or in batches. All of the contact information is stored and saved on your smartphone, and you can even add notes and reminders to these contacts to help jog your memory. And if you have your own secretary, you can even invite them to scan and save contact details on your behalf, which is a truly nice feature.
If you have your own business card, you can store that inside CamCard as well. When you run out of paper cards to hand out, just send them an e-card version through CamCard. The app also intelligently keeps track of stored contacts, so that when a contact gets promoted or changes jobs, you’ll get a notification about it. CamCard also keeps all of your data securely stored in the cloud, so you can access everything from multiple devices when necessary (no limitations with a Premium account).
I’ll add that the app will send the information to Outlook, Google Contact, and Salesforce.
And here is the old article about Cardmunch:
I go to networking functions with the best of intentions, and I collect and hand out a large number of business cards, but my follow through leaves a lot to be desired. I return to the office with a stack of cards, planning to follow up with some emails or calls to the people I met, reminding them what I do and sending some business their way. It seldom happens, and making matters worse, I know that most of the people I met will be equally ineffectual in following up. To be effective, I really need to shoot off some emails, so the person can then add my contact information to their address book.
I’ve been using an iPhone app for the past few weeks that is finally bringing my good intentions to fruition. Cardmunch is amazing. There are any number of apps that scan business cards and put the contact information into an address book for you, but with the wide variety of business cards, I have never found one that didn’t require a great deal of editing of the scanned information. Carmunch is always perfect.
When you get a card, you just snap a picture of it with your iPhone, and you’re done. A real, live person somewhere out in cyberspace looks at the picture and inputs all the information and shoots it back to your Cardmunch app. In the note section of the contact information, it lists the date the card was scanned, so you have an automatic indication as to where you got the card.
Here’s where it gets fun. Cardmunch is tied to LinkedIn (a LinkedIn account is required). If the person whose card you captured is linked to you through some level or circle or whatever LinkedIn calls it, you not only get the contact information, but the person’s bio and photo are inserted into the Cardmunch contact list on your iPhone. The information is saved in .vcf format, so you could easily send it to Outlook if you are so inclined.
Since the Cardmunch elves put the date in the note section, I added notes to the cards before I photographed them, to see if they would put that information in the note section as well. That would have been epic, but unfortunately they ignore your notes. However, it’s not a big deal because your photo of the card is put at the top of the contact, so whatever notes you wrote on the card are clearly visible. Just be sure you write the notes on the front of the card.
So here’s how it all plays out. Someone gives me a card, and I write a note on it to remind me what they do, if it is not self-evident from the card. I’ve heard that some just photograph the card and hand it back, but that might be perceived as dismissive, and why not take the card in case you later want to give it to a referral? I photograph them then or later, and they come up on the screen in Cardmunch when they have been input. Thankfully they are not automatically added to my address book, because it is unlikely that I will want all these people in my contacts. However, with a single click, I can send any contact to my iPhone contact list.
Later I go through my new Cardmunch contacts for my follow ups. The email address is loaded and ready to go, so I fire off an email that says, “Per your request, just wanted to drop you a quick note to remind you that I handle defamation cases, and I’ll be keeping an eye open for medical malpractice cases for you.” Now the person has a fresh reminder outside of the hubbub of the function, and an email to refer to when he is trying to remember that defamation attorney he spoke to. If the bio was added by LinkedIn, I can get more personal. Now when I send an email or make a call, I’m not limited to saying “I met you at the bar meeting”, I can say “I met you at the bar meeting – by the way I see you went to the University of Arizona – did you see them trounce USC last week?” If you snap a picture of your own business card, with a couple of clicks you can send a picture of the card with the email.
What’s the price for this great app and the input service? It’s all free, as long as you have a LinkedIn account. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, now is the time.